Dettori is fit to ride Falbrav

Frankie Dettori is making good progress as he bids to be fit enough to ride the globe-trotting Falbrav in the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday.

The Italian twisted his right ankle when jumping off an injured horse at Happy Valley yesterday but has been discharged from hospital after having X-rays and has told Luca Cumani that he will be fit for the weekend.

"I have talked to Frankie and he has decided to take a couple of days of complete rest," said Cumani. "He is confident he will be able to ride and, having travelled well, it is now just a case of keeping Falbrav ticking over." Corals have reported very little market support for Falbrav, but his fellow British raider Rakti has attracted a series of good bets and has been trimmed from 4-1 to 7-2 to follow up his success in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket.

Michael Jarvis's four-year-old impressed the workwatchers in a spin this morning and, along with Falbrav, was drawn among the favoured low numbers at the subsequent ballot for post position.

"Stall four is fine for Rakti and he looks magnificent," said Jarvis. "I'm not saying he'll beat Falbrav, but he's a fresh horse and I feel he can run a very big race."

Falbrav will be berthed next door to Rakti in stall five, but the latter's big-race jockey Philip Robinson did voice slight concern about whether his mount will behave during the preliminaries.